Blue Moon
by AmazonianWolf
Summary: The return of the Cullens after only two weeks set people talking, but no one expected word to reach Volterra. Now, the Volturi know what the Cullens have been up to, but what will they do and how will this change the future?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight; I do not. Nor do I own the Phantom of the Opera. I only came up with the plot of this fanfic.

Author's Note: I got a weird idea from a picture and a soundtrack, so I'm trying it out here. I hope you enjoy it. :) Also, some changes you should or might want to know:

The Cullens only left for two weeks, so most of the events of New Moon did not happen.

Alec and Jane were changed when they were almost seventeen, which makes them taller as well with Jane at 5"5 and Alec at 5"6.

The rest you will find out as the story unfolds.

* * *

**Chapter One**

The notes rose ever upwards to the gold leafed, warm brown, round ceiling from the stage below her as she sat in the balcony, several feet from the hanging red drapes of the opera house. The sounds, the voices, the music weaved and mixed in her head in an intoxicating and enticing mixture throughout the performance.

As the words of "Think of Me" washed over and enveloped her, she felt pressure rise in her chest to the timing of the swelling of the music from the orchestra and briefly frowned. _Odd._ The scene unfolding below her brilliant red gaze began to make her uneasy. The pressure turned into an ache. Her pale, cold hand crept up and massaged the spot over her heart as Christine sang below and Raoul recognized her. The feeling subsided as the last line faded in the air, and her breathing slowed to a normal human pace.

The darker notes, almost like the rhythm of heart beats at times, resonated throughout the house, and she fully relaxed as Christine left through the mirror. The rhythm suited her more than the mostly light, airy notes of "The Angel of Music". _Darkness is always a more natural and happy state._ She smiled softly to herself at that and felt her fangs prick at her bottom lip as she watched the phantom lead the singer into his lair. _Beware._ She snorted in amusement to herself. _How I do enjoy the darker scenes and songs, but I enjoy knowing and being far more of a danger myself than he can ever hope to be. She would never have lasted long with me._

She remained seated in the gloom and glanced around at the humans in the room as the theater owners implored the prima donna to return. Sighing, she slumped into the plush red seat when Raoul and Christine began singing of their love on the balcony. _He's not worth it_, she thought as she glowered at the actors below. _He's really not. None of them are really, Christine._ She sighed again. _You'd think after the millionth time she'd learn…Alec will enjoy pestering about this again tonight, won't he?_ She continued to glower at the two lovers on the stage as the scene ended, and the masquerade began. She caught herself shifting her head left to right in time with the music and shook her head before sighing sadly and leaning her elbows on the railing. She rested her chin in her hand. _I wish Aro would let us have balls again. I think the last was the New Year's Masquerade in 1905._ She frowned, remembering his reasoning. _"Dear Jane," he had chided her, "surely you know we can't have so many vampires running around Volterra now. It's too much of a risk."_ She crinkled her nose before pushing back into her seat as Christine went to the cemetery.

The end arrived, and soon the curtains closed after the actors bowed. Harsh light flooded the theater, and she winced slightly at the sudden light. _I wish they kept the gloom._ She lingered in the balcony and looked at the red curtained stage as the humans filed out. Sighing as employees began cleaning the house, she turned, descended the plush stairs to the foyer, and left through the gold painted rimmed doors, stepping out into the slightly cold night.

"Still complaining about Christine's choices, sister?" Alec inquired while leaning against the brick wall of the store next door.

Jane huffed and wrapped her black jacket more firmly around herself in minor annoyance and to appear more human to the few still in the streets this late under the star scattered sky.

Alec laughed softly and fell into step beside her as they made their way back towards the fortress.

* * *

"Bella," the purring whisper lingered in her ear as she sleepily woke from the luring embrace of the dream once again. She slowly sat up and rubbed the lingering warmth of sleep from her eyes before glancing around her room. _At least, it's Friday,_ she thought before climbing out of bed and getting ready for the day._ Wonder if Alice will consider canceling that shopping trip and letting me spend the weekend more with Edward?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Thud…thud._

"Come in," Jane called softly when the light rapping of knuckles on the wooden door ended. _Creak._

"Aro wishes to speak with you, Jane," Felix informed her before leaving when she nodded in acknowledgement.

She lowered her pen to rest atop the now half-dark paper on her mahogany desk before rising with a sigh and proceeding to Aro's study.

"You wished to see me, Master?" she asked as she slipped into the room after briefly knocking to announce her presence.

"Yes," Aro answered and rubbed his hands together, "Jane, dear, you remember the Cullens?"

She narrowed her eyes and frowned before answering, "Yes, Master. I do. What have they done?" _'Bout time the sniveling cowards did something after all these years. I can't wait to feel that smug Edward's head rip free in my hands._

"More what they have _not_ done, dear Jane," Aro said, and her eyes briefly widened before she allowed a small smile to briefly escape onto her lips. "Now Jane," Aro continued and raised a hand to recapture her full attention. "All I want you to do is observe."

Her jaw nearly dropped. _What?!_

"I want you to observe how they act around a certain human…an Isabella Swan," Aro explained before she could regain the full function of her tongue and cut off her chocking. "You and Alec will both go. As cover, you two will be transfer students to Forks High School from Italy and pose as the Cullens' cousins for the time being. You'll have to in order to fully observe their interactions. You are not to interfere unless it is to keep our existence a secret. I'm counting on you," Aro finished, "but I wish to see if they are planning to change her and if so, how soon?"

Jane nodded dumbly. _High school?! I'm being sent to a human high school?! And all to just see if those stupid, damn Cullens are going to change a pathetic, damned human?!_ She bit back a low growl that was beginning to rumble in her chest.

"Excellent!" Aro clapped his hands together. "Now, go and gather your luggage and Alec. Your flight leaves at six in the morning. Chelsea will get everything you'll need for your cover."

Again, Jane nodded and slowly left the study before heading back to her room, where after closing the door, she slumped against it and fought the urge to pummel it with her fist. _God dammit! _She smirked at the thought. _Well, if there was a god._

Shaking her head to clear it, she stood and packed two suitcases of clothes along with what she had been working on before Felix had interrupted. _Might at least be able to come across a shield to test out my theories on._ After finishing, she changed into jeans, a red t-shirt, and her favorite black jacket before pulling on calf high black leather boots.

"Sister?" Alec called as he knocked before poking his head in. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes," she growled. "Aro wants us to observe the Cullens and their new pet to see what they intend to do with it."

"Ah," he murmured before leaving, "I'll go pack then and meet you at reception in an hour."

She nodded without turning around and met him in reception at the appointed time before they left with four suitcases between them for the airport.

"So," Alec began as they settled into their seats, "did he say how long we're going to be in that hellhole?"

She shook her head and sighed, "I'm assuming no more than a few months, but I can't be sure…He's having us pose as high school students…and the Cullens' cousins," she finished with a sneer and crinkled her nose.

"What?!" he choked and sputtered.

She nodded glumly and said, "Be prepared for discomfort, brother. I'm assuming that Aro told them to make arrangements for our stay." _I couldn't just intimidate them instead? Seriously?! I couldn't just do that or have them change their pet on the spot or better yet just kill it in front of them?_

* * *

"But why can't I come over like we planned?" Bella asked as they walked down the front steps towards the parking lot.

"Because we'll have guests, love," Edward replied as he guided her to the Volvo. "And you shouldn't be around when they arrive from Italy."

"Italy?" she asked as she slid in before he climbed into the driver's seat, and they took off for her house.

"Yes, you remember what I said about the higher powers in the vampire world?" he inquired as his knuckles tightened on the steering wheel and glanced over at her.

"The Volturi? I think that's what you called them," she replied and suppressed shiver as they pulled into her drive, and he cut the engine before getting out and coming around to help her out.

"Yes," he said and helped her to the door. "Two of them are arriving soon, but I'll come back later tonight after everything's settled."

"It's about me. Isn't it?" she asked and looked up at him while trying to glare.

He chuckled softly at her attempt and admitted, "Yes, but you can stop trying now, love. It isn't working, and no, you can't be there. It's too dangerous."

He kissed her before leaving, and with a sigh, she quietly shut the door after she could no longer see his silver car.

* * *

Exiting the terminal, they spotted a golden-eyed, blonde man leaning against a column as the humans fanned out around them. _At least it's not the mind reader._ The twins walked over at a human pace before stopping in front of him, where Jane merely raised an eyebrow in question.

"Jasper Whitlock, ma'am," he said, too low for the passing humans to here.

She nodded and replied, "Lead on."

After grabbing their luggage at the baggage claim, they climbed into a red BMW with Jasper behind the wheel.

The drive was silent as Jane eyed the first Cullen she had met. _Respectful at least._ She eyed his scars on full display by his short sleeved, cashmere sweater. _And a fighter. A very powerful one at that judging by the number of crescent scars on his arms alone. There are probably more like them on his legs, but still, they attest to a number of battles he's survived. Wouldn't do him any good thought if it comes to that._

"We're here," he announced quietly as he parked the car in front of a large, modern mansion.

She nodded her thanks and stepped from the car with Alec not far behind. The Cullens had arranged themselves on the steps of their home, and after they had exited the car, Carlisle came forward.

"Welcome," he said. "Aro called ahead and arrangements have been made. Jasper can drive you to the house that was arranged. I must remind you that the Quileute shapeshifters are still present on the La Push reservation, so the closest you can hunt is in Seattle if you don't want to provoke them."

"The treaty line is still the same?" Jane asked and remained careful to blank her mind of all important thoughts.

"Yes," he answered.

She nodded and said, "Good, we will retire to that house then and inform you of any changes to this…arrangement if they arise."

With that, they got back in the car and left as Edward glared after them. _Perhaps? No, he's not worth it…at least not right now. Maybe later I can find a reasonable excuse for making him wail and thrash on the ground._

She shook herself out of her thoughts as Jasper brought the car onto a long shaded drive similar to that of the Cullens. After a few minutes, the trees ended to reveal a much smaller clearing with a much smaller, rustic house, and Jasper parked the car a few feet from the door.

"It's a couple of miles from our own place in case of any trouble from the wolves," Jasper admitted as he opened the trunk, and Alec grabbed their bags before placing them by the door, "but it's far enough for privacy. There's a Jeep Wrangler around back for blending in," he added before getting into the car.

"If there's anything else?" he asked, almost hiding his anxiety.

"No," Jane said, almost bored. "That'll be all. I suppose we will see you Monday with the human?"

Jasper nodded once, and when she looked away in dismissal, he drove off.

"What do you think, brother?" she asked when the Cullen was out of hearing and walked to the door.

"Adequate for the two of us," he replied as he joined her and picked up their baggage as she opened the unlocked door.

She nodded and shut the now locked door behind them. Glancing around the small foyer with a staircase leading to the second floor, she walked through and into the dining room with an open kitchen to her right. Beyond it she found a small family room with a bathroom and study across the hall from it and a guest room next to it. When she joined Alec upstairs, she found two bedrooms, one of which came with its own bathroom, and a second bathroom.

"The larger one," she said after barely glancing at the two rooms.

"I called first dibs," Alec called from the hall, where he had left the luggage as he also explored the house.

"Don't think so," she called back before grabbing her bags at vampire speed and racing into the room with the door shutting behind her.

Alec sighed as he came upstairs, "You can never once let me keep the first choice?"

"Nope," she answered as she unpacked. "There was no way in hell that I was going to give up having my own bathroom like at home." _Now, if only I could actually go home._


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Sorry, it's been so long, guys. Life decided to swamp me with far too much at once. I'm hoping I'll once again be able to update sooner, but if another month goes before then, don't worry. If that happens, I'll be back as soon as I can; now onto the story!

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"Edward, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Bella asked as she got into the Volvo.

"There's nothing to worry about, love," he said, ignoring her question as he drove them to the school. "Just promise me something, alright?"

She snorted and briefly looked out the window at the darkening sky before returning her gaze to him with a raised eyebrow. _Well?_ Bella thought, even though he couldn't hear her.

"Stay away from the new kids, today," he said before getting out and quickly helping her out.

As they quickly walked into the building, she glanced at the new black Jeep parked in the farthest spot, right next to the forest. She briefly frowned at it but didn't comment as the first slow, separate drops of rain fell upon them, and they entered the building.

* * *

_This is utterly boring, and I haven't ever even been to school before!_ Jane internally sighed and leaned her chin further into her palm as she sat in the back of the class. _I haven't even seen the human yet, just either the blonde, Jasper, I believe his name was? And the seer._ She glanced at the clock above the droning teacher's head. _Fifteen more minutes._ She slightly shook her head. _Why would any immortal-scratch that, these Cullens aren't true immortals. If they were, they wouldn't be nearly so weak. They'd act like true vampires and quit curbing their natural tendencies in order to drink that disgusting, rancid liquid from the veins of animals and play house with humans._ She quietly snorted below the level of human hearing, and the blonde glanced over at her. She ignored him in favor of looking out the window as the rain poured down, obscuring the trees as the gloom settled over the area from the clouds above. _At least fate has seen fit to give me a more fitting background, even if it is only with the weather outside._

The bell rang, and humans raced from the room. The Cullen followed as Jane flowed to her feet and collected her things in no hurry to join the school at lunch. _Perhaps there's a way I could skip it?_

She slowly walked to the cafeteria as Alec joined her from his shared class with the pixie. _Must not want us together. Stupid Cullens. Just makes them more suspicious and gives us more work to do._ She internally sighed. _And keeps us from Volterra longer._ Trying to tune out the misery attached to such thoughts, she instead focused on the snippets of conversations around her and her brother, where unsurprisingly, they were also the topic of the discussions.

"Cullens' cousins?"

"From Italy, I heard."

"The guy's _so_ hot."

"I bet you next week she'll be mine."

"Like hell. She's mine."

Jane rolled her eyes. _Humans. Petty, insignificant blood bags. I may on occasion play with my food at dinner, but I do have standards, of which none of them even remotely reach._

Upon entering the cafeteria, the witch twins grabbed their food from the counter and chose a table two over from the Cullens, where a young brunette sat amongst the vampires.

_So, this is the pet?_ Jane lifted an eyebrow as she sat with her back to the wall with Alec on her left. _It doesn't look special at all. Just another blood bag really. Brown hair, bordering-on vampire pale arms, hunched with a brown hoodie, sometimes with Golden Boy's arm around its' waist._ Her musings were interrupted when a sandy haired male human stopped next to her.

"Hey," he said nervously, and she could see small drops of sweat on the human. "I was, uh, wondering if you don't have anything to do later, if you would, um, want to catch a movie… with me." He rubbed the back of his neck with a sweating palm.

"No," she said simply and turned to look at her brother as if the two of them were about to start a conversation.

Gaping at her, the boy lingered for a few seconds as she whispered to Alec below human hearing levels before leaving for a table filled by his friends.

"Dear sister, you seem to attract them like flies," Alec chuckled. "Even more than me."

Jane scowled. "You know how I dislike such attention. It's always the ones who so often approach me, and you know that. I prefer my toys and eventual meals to be more… pliant, obedient, and… altogether more yielding to me." Leaning back, she added, "This is supposed to be the modern era. Why, then, cannot the females approach me as the males do?"

Alec merely shrugged as he recognized her question as rhetorical and took a small bite of an apple.

"Heads up, sister. The pet is staring at us," he informed her as she also took small bites of her food.

Jane arched an eyebrow. "Scared?"

"No, more fascinated, I would say," he answered and bit into his slice of pizza as she frowned. "The Cullens probably haven't bothered to inform her that vampires can eat small amounts of food, more so if they follow a human blood diet."

Jane rolled her eyes. _Of course, ignore the benefits of our natural diet and refuse to inform the pet of them. Make the Volturi out as worse than the monsters of human nightmare._ She took another bite of her pizza. _Perhaps I can use that to torture the favorite at least? It would make the trip more amusing… for me, that is._

Swallowing, she turned to look at the brunette, who was peeking out from her obscuring curtain of hair at them. Jane paused mid-sneer and cocked her head as she inhaled deeply. _That scent. Why didn't I notice such a heady concoction before? It's pine and…apples with cinnamon like fall in a warm forest._ She searched the human's mostly obscured face until alighting upon brown doe eyes. She froze, and the human appeared to as well for a few seconds, whether in fear or fascination she could not tell. She stared until the human jerked away and buried herself into her boyfriend's side as he growled at Jane, who scowled back. _Soon, Dickward, soon._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Sister," Alec commented as he sat on the couch in their living room as light washed the interior from the sunset. "Do you wish to tell me what has you growling at everything at the moment… including me?"

Jane growled low in her throat and threw a glance over at him but continued her pacing. "Not yet. I just… agh!"

She stopped and briefly threw her hands in the air. "I'm going to hunt."

Without waiting or bothering to see her twin's reaction, she sped out the door into the fast growing shadows of the surrounding forest and headed for Seattle.

"Bella?" Edward asked quietly.

"Hm? Oh, sorry, Edward. I just space out there for a moment," Bella answered and tore her gaze from the window over to him.

"Love, would you mind if I left for the night? I need to hunt," he continued and cautiously eyed her, which made guilt fled her senses. _He's been so concerned all day, Bella. You're acting strange, and it's got him worried._

"Yeah, that's fine," she answered and after a quick kiss, watched him jump out her window.

She sighed after a few minutes and rolled over onto her back atop the covers to stare at the ceiling in thought. _Relief or regret? I can't tell which. That's bad, Bella, that's real bad. He's your boyfriend. You love him. You shouldn't want him to be away from you more. Yeah, but that girl… the one who looked at me at lunch with those violet eyes, she's… interesting. She's a vampire, I know that, and one of the Volturi. I'm supposed to be afraid of her, but I find myself wanting to be near her. Maybe it's a… vampire thrall?_ Bella shrugged and glanced at her window again as if expecting her to show up. _Really, Bells? You don't know more than her name… Jane. I never knew that name could be anything more than plain._ She giggled. _Did that just rhyme?_

Meanwhile, Jane crouched atop a building above an almost deserted street and watched as a woman quickened her pace down the sidewalk with a man a few feet behind her. _Who to choose, who to choose. Can't have both; I just need to kill something and soothe my anger… and maybe my frustration. _She briefly frowned. _What would she think?_

Deciding, Jane gracefully leapt from the building down to the street level as the man came level with the mouth of a nearby alley. Before he could make a sound, she had pinned to the wall in the alley and her mouth buried against his throat. Whatever scream would have punctured the night came out as gurgling not long after her fangs had pierced his flesh. Soon, a corpse, leaving a smearing trail of blood to seep into the bricks and drip into the ground, sunk to her feet. Her tongue flicked out and caught the few remaining drops of blood upon her lips before she climbed back up to the roof of the building that she had perched upon before.

Alone, she gazed upon the full, silver moon as it slid out from behind the dark clouds of the night. The breeze ruffled her hair and black Volturi cloak as remained as still as a statue.

"To think," she spoke softly to herself, "Once I thought people such fools for the promises of love whispered in the darkness only to fall prey to such a thing. To think that all I, the feared Jane Volturi of the Elite Guard of Volterra, should ask of a human is to love me. Not blood, not war, not suffering, not torture, not even temporary pleasure, but love."

"Come, Jane," she chided herself. "You knew you would eventually find a mate for the eternal darkness… but a human, I admit is… unexpected. No matter, I'll claim her soon enough. Cullen cannot possibly stand in my way."

Refreshed and calmer, Jane headed back towards the small town of Forks and her human mate, who has plagued her mind the entire evening and afternoon. _A simple human, my mate. Not for long if I have my way, which of course I shall._ She grinned at the thought as the forest flew by around her, and her hair spread out in a golden banner behind her.

Then, the scent hit her nose again, and she stopped in a moonlit clearing. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them, pools of deep, dark red turned towards the heart of Forks. _Not far._ She took off at a sprint and only paused as a repugnant scent crossed her path. _Edward_. She growled. _But gone for now._

She slowed as the trees thinned around her to reveal a plain house. Pausing in the deep shadows under the last eaves of the forest, she checked for any movement and found none. Grinning, she followed her nose and soundlessly sprinted across the short backyard before leaping up a solitary tree at the side of the house and onto the ledge of an open window.

Her eyes landed on the softly rising and falling form across the room. _My mate._ After checking that no Cullen was near, she grinned and slipped silently into the room. She stood against the wall and breathed in the human's heady scent until her nose crinkled at the stink of another's smell lingering in the room.

_Edward._ Her chest quietly rumbled with low growls, which ceased as Bella whimpered and moved in her sleep. In an instant, Jane was sitting on the bed by her side with her nose buried against the brunette's hair and purring at the pure, unadulterated scent. _My mate. __**Mine.**_ Bella calmed, and Jane detected the sound of fast footsteps in the forest.

She quietly growled but quickly fled out the window and back into the forest towards the house that she shared with Alec as Edward neared. _Tomorrow, Cullen. I won't let my mate linger by your side longer than I have to. Tomorrow, we settle this._

* * *

_AN: _Like? Dislike? Feel free to tell me in a review. Just don't simply say you hate it or it sucks; you have to give me a reason why.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"Jane, what's going on?" Alec asked when she returned with the dawn's light creeping through the branches into their clearing.

She paused at the door before entering. "Edward and I are going to have a little chat today, most likely after school. Make sure the others don't try to interfere but keep it quiet."

Slightly confused, he nodded and followed after her.

* * *

Pale golden light played across her eyelids as they fluttered open, and Bella squinted at the dawn. Sighing, she left the warmth of her bed and the warmth of the quickly fading dream and readied for school. _Was Edward here then? I can't tell. If he hadn't been back from hunting, whose presence was that? Were they real or did my mind invent them? And if it wasn't Edward… then I've never felt that calm, protected… and loved by anyone including him in my entire life._

Pausing at the front door, she frowned. _But he's my soulmate… It must have been him._

* * *

"You know what you're doing sister?" Alec whispered as the witch twins took their seats at lunch.

"Of course, brother," Jane answered coolly as she glanced over at the Cullens' table. "Just remember to keep his coven mates occupied. Stating Volturi business should be enough, but I don't want interruptions. Understood?"

Lifting his eyebrows, he nodded. "Personal?"

"Perhaps," she said simply and took a bite of mashed potatoes. She felt the human's eyes on her as she chewed but resisted the urge to meet the brown eyed gaze. "I'll tell you when we get back to the house, brother. I promise… I just… need to do this on my own."

"If you think Aro will be fine with it…" he trailed off before turning to his own meal. _More than alright, I think. Jane Volturi would naturally have a gifted mate._

As a comfortable silence settled between them, she turned to more easily see Edward's head and face from the corners of her eyes. _Edward,_ she mentally crooned and watched him stiffen and his jaw tighten. _The forest after school. __**Alone**__. Keep the seer out of this. Understood? We can finish this there._

She caught his nod and satisfied, returned to her meal.

* * *

Smirking, Jane headed into the forest with Edward following as his coven mates sullenly remained behind with Alec, although the pixie tried to hide a small smile that made Jane briefly frown in confusion. _What is it that you have seen seer that could cause you such joy? It is most certainly not my downfall as that shall never happen and can't imagine you smiling over a future where I beat Dickward into a shattered pulp._

Once out of sight, they broke into a run and soon burst into a mountain top clearing, where the sunlight sparkled along their faces. Turning around, Jane faced a fuming Edward with a raised eyebrow.

"You were in her room!" he hissed between exposed fangs.

"As I had every right to be, while you have none," she responded coolly. "Surely, even an ignorant fool like you must realize that she belongs with me."

"She's _mine_," he bellowed and clenched his fists.

Shaking her head, Jane smirked. "Insolent boy, are you truly that blind or merely demented? She is obviously mine. Her blood holds no temptation to the beast within me, yet I observe you grimacing in pain when but a few feet from her. There is nothing of you in her that would make her your soulmate."

"Bella is nothing like you!" he howled and towered over her. "She is not evil! She is not sadistic! She has a _soul_!"

"Ah, yes. The soul concept," she answered dryly. "Perhaps I too possess a soul? Hm? Perhaps our great creator intended for me to be as I am just as whomever it is created Isabella for me," she sarcastically commented as Edward began to shake. "Oh, did we not consider such a possibility that vampires were intentionally created and that we were meant to be as we are?" She smirked.

"You… you…" he sputtered as his frame shook violently before pouncing at her. "You damn, sadistic bitch!"

She sidestepped him, and he ran into a tree, which snapped and hurtled down the mountain side. As he turned to face her, he yelped and fell twitching to the ground in agony, refusing to scream.

"Now, here is how things will be," Jane stated and walked to within a few feet of him. "Isabella shall be mine as fate intended. She will return with me to Volterra when the masters deem my mission here complete. You will not be alone with her, and you will remain at least two feet away from her at all times. Understood?"

"Go to hell," he grunted.

"Your choice," she said and shrugged before increasing the intensity of the pain, which had Edward thrashing on the ground closer and closer to the edge of the mountain.

When he was a few inches from the drop, she stopped and grabbed a panting Edward by the neck. "Just remember our chat." Then, she threw him down the mountain, where his shrieks echoed off the rocky sides into the valley below where trees shattered in loud booms.

Chuckling, Jane headed back towards the high school parking lot to collect Alec and head back to the house.

* * *

"You did what?!" Alec blurted in their living room after she finished her tale.

"I threw the screaming idiot off the mountain. It'll take him a few hours to at least get all the splinters out, and he might even have to reattach a few limbs," Jane chuckled before sipping refrigerated blood from her wine glass as she reclined on the sofa opposite her brother.

"How do you know Aro won't be upset when he hears of this from Carlisle?" he asked as he eyed his sister with respect.

She snorted. "Even if Dickward's crying has him call Aro, the masters won't interfere unless the Cullens try to keep me from her. It is unacceptable to keep mates apart once they have found each other. You know that."

"Yeah, but how are you going to… win her, I suppose that's the correct phrasing." He leaned forward concerned. "She is a human… who's been with the Cullens, who only drink animal blood."

"She's my soulmate, Alec. I don't have to 'win her'. She's already mine and will naturally come to me," Jane dismissed his worries. "Even if I do drink from humans, I discriminate the criminals from the rest of the herd. She can't fault me for it then."

Standing, Jane put away her glass in the fridge on her way out the door. _Now, to see if he's followed my words._

* * *

Nervous and worried, Bella chewed at her lower lip as she fidgeted on the Cullens' sofa where they all waited for Edward to return after he had left with Jane hours before. _Where is he?_ She glanced over at Alice, who smiled back at her, but the smile did not reach the pixie's eyes.

"Don't worry, Bella," Alice whispered and squeezed her hand. "Everything'll be fine in the end."

Frowning, she looked over at the small vampire, who shook her head. _Whatever it is, it must be good in the end if Alice isn't too concerned about it._

Soon, all the Cullens were looking at the back door in anticipation, and Alice squeezed her hand again before smiling sadly. "You should go home now, Bella."

Bewildered, she allowed Alice to pull her to her feet. "Edward will be fine, but it's best that you shouldn't be here. He needs time to come down from his talk with Jane. You'll be fine if you drive your truck." _Well, betting against Alice has never worked before._

Confused but reassured, Bella nodded and left minutes before Edward stormed out of the woods.

* * *

Jane remained in the shadows of the tree line as Bella pulled into the drive and headed into her house. _Perfect. He doesn't her. He could never deserve an angel like her._

Her phone vibrating in her pocket pulled her from her awe filled thoughts of Bella and gleeful plotting of torturing and maybe executing Edward.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Sister," Alec answered. "The Cullens are requesting a meeting immediately. What do you want to do?"

"Meet them at their house, Alec. I'll be there shortly," she replied before hanging up.

With a last lingering look at her mate's house, Jane took off into the forest for the Cullens' residence. _I wonder how much wailing and fuss the boy will throw in his latest temper tantrum._

* * *

_Author's Note_: I enjoyed writing that confrontation scene way too much and sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it. Don't get used to such fast updates; I can't do them all the time. Otherwise, reviews are welcome, and I am wondering if any of you are noticing how Phantom of the Opera music is woven into this. Have a great week.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

With Alec, Jane arrived at the Cullen home and sat on a couch before the coven as a fuming Edward glared at her and ranted on. Alec stood behind her and ready for a fight to break out as he expected from the way Edward was allowed to go on.

"… complete and utter bitch witch," he bellowed.

"Language," Esme sighed for the fifth time in ten minutes, apparently giving up on censoring her eldest son as he gave them his side of the story after Jasper left on a hunt when his brother's emotions became too much for him.

"Are quite done yet?" Jane yawned. "I have duties that need to be attended to for Master Aro." Though a blatant lie to escape the insufferable company of Carlisle's oldest creation, Edward didn't catch it and was about to launch on another tirade when Jane cut him off.

"Carlisle, I believe there is no issue here as the human is obviously my mate and not your 'son's'," she stated.

"Bullshit! You've put some kind of spell on her!" He raged.

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "You are quite like the humans who tried to burn my brother and I at the stake. They believed that I could do magic too… and they were wrong as well."

He opened his mouth to reply, but Alice broke in. "She is right, Edward. Mates are mates. No one chooses who they are mated to, and no one can come between mates."

He fumed in silence as he continued to glare petulantly like a toddler at Jane who smiled as she gracefully flowed to standing up. Alec glared right back at him with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Now that this is done; we'll be taking our leave. Good night, Carlisle, Cullen Coven." She nodded at them before taking off out the door and into the woods with Alec.

* * *

_The day is going well,_ Jane mused as she headed to class after lunch. _Although the Cullens are still hovering around my mate, she keeps glancing at me. I will simply have to get her alone. That shouldn't be too hard. After all, she and Edward were never meant to be, and we are._ Her lips curled up into a small smile. _She will not be by his side for much longer. Of that, I am sure. The mate pull should be affecting her, pulling her away from that insufferable fool and towards me. Each day she will feel it more until the Cullens do not matter._

_After all,_ she thought as she took her usual seat at the back of the class, _a part of me is in her as my mate just a part of her is in me. Fuckward can't compete with that._ She quietly snorted in amusement at the picture of his horrified face as he no doubt was reading her unguarded thoughts wherever he was.

* * *

_This can't be right. Edward's my angel,_ Bella thought. _He's there for me in the dark of the night… but he's never lingered in the shadows._

Edward unexpectedly grimaced and gagged in his seat next to. She looked at him in concern and gently touched his arm. He smiled reassuringly.

"I'm alright, love," he whispered.

She nodded and went back to her thoughts as the teacher droned on. _Jane. There's something about her. With her blonde hair and dark clothes, almost always black with maybe a wine red or blood red bit of coloring, she looks like a dark angel. Her presence... it's… it's like I've… always known it in some way. No, it's like I've come across it before._

She shook her head as the bell rang, and everyone scrambled for the door.

The drive home was quiet, and she absentmindedly kissed Edward before going into her house. She barely caught his quite, tight words of explanation for why he wouldn't be coming over tonight.

Once inside, she headed upstairs to do her homework and later made dinner for herself and Charlie, who wouldn't come home until for about midnight.

Tired and confused, she headed to bed.

_Darkness wrapped itself around her with spots of white light vanishing only to appear elsewhere. Her voice murmured in the distance, but the words did not sound like hers. Harsher, they rang out against someone, but she couldn't make out who she was supposed to be arguing against._

_ "__Bella!" Edward called out somewhere in the dark. "Bella, love, come back to me! Where are you?!"_

_ "__Edward," she called out and turned to see behind her._

_ "__Bella, love, what has she done?!"_

_ "__Who, Edward? Edward!" She cried out into the darkness and turned back in desperation._

_As if appearing from the darkness or some hidden part of her, Jane stood behind her. Her eyes, a blazing red now unhidden by contacts, bored into her. She slowly held out her hand and waited as she continued to watch Bella. Hesitantly, she lifted her hand and hovered it above the marble palm. Slowly, she lowered it into Jane's and was surprised at the softness of the palm below her own and the fingers which lightly came to lay on the back of her hand. Jane smiled and began to slowly walk backwards into the darkness._

_Dull cries began around them, but the words were to faint for her to hear as she followed Jane, who seemed to be quietly singing to her as they walked. Her lips barely moved, but a wordless, lulling song reached Bella's ears._

_The cries became louder with Edward's voice rising above them, blocking out the red eyed angel's song. The world began to fade around her as she gazed into the blood red eyes locked with her own. Jane's form began to blur until she could only clearly see her eyes._

_"__Bella!" Edward screamed at the top of his lungs._

She jolted upright to find the sheets tangled about her legs and the room as dark as she had left it when she had gone to bed. She glanced at the clock, which red five thirty a.m. _I won't be able to go back to sleep after that… but why was Edward screaming? Why were Jane's eyes so… so… __**bewitching**__?_ She rubbed at her forehead before slowly getting out of bed to face the new school day.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you all have enjoyed this new chapter and Bella's dream. I had meant to update earlier, but my original work put that on hold as I was getting my one of my novels onto Amazon. If you want, you can check it out. Info is on the profile page. As always comments are appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

Response to reviews:

.7334: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying my story and my writing.

mariemullinax: I most certainty intend to continue. I have a hard time stopping once I get started.

.marie: I'm actually rather stunned, but still overjoyed, that you are hooked on this story. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

_Well, well Edward,_ Jane smirked from across the cafeteria. _Seems Bella's more distracted than usual today. She keeps glancing over here out of the corners of her eyes at me and Alec. I know she's thinking of me. I wonder how soon it will take for her to think more often of me than she has of you?_ Her smirk deepened as Edward's fist clenched around his fork, threatening to snap it in two. He glowered at her in return. _Don't worry. It won't be long now. The mate pull is growing._

The afternoon passed quickly for her until she was almost to the parking lot when a lone Bella stopped her. She raised an eyebrow as the human blushed and looked at her feet while mumbling something about wanting to talk. Jane barely nodded, not truly listening as her eyes swept over the mate that destiny had chosen for her. _She's gorgeous when she's this close. Her beauty hides with the distance._

Still lost in thought, she nevertheless followed Bella through the school, out the back entrance, and into the surrounding forest. They walked until the building was far behind them, and they were unable to see it through the trees.

Then, Bella stopped and turning to her, she crossed her arms over her chest. Jane stood a few feet before her and cautiously eyed her. _How much does she know? Have the Cullens told her anything at all? I doubt it. They certainly didn't tell her about true mates._

"Why does Edward hate you so much?" She quietly asked.

_Well, that answers the question._ "Has he said who your mate is?" Jane asked.

Frowning, she answered, "Him. We've always been meant for each other. I'm sure of it."

"How so?" Jane asked, pressing towards the issue and forcing down a sudden nervousness.

"Because we love each more than anything else in the entire world," she answered and gently bit her bottom lip. _She can't actually think that Edward and I don't belong together._

"Then, how could he have left you for so long? Two weeks would drive any vampire insane. Our mates mean everything to us," Jane clarified. "So, if you were his mate, then how could he have willingly stayed away for so long, particularly when it hurt you to think of him leaving and then never coming back?"

"You're lying!" Bella accused with her voice slightly higher than usual. _She can't be implying that-?_

"Who have you thought most of recently?" _Please be honest and accept it. At least don't entirely reject the idea, ma __bella__._

"Not you!" She spat and stormed off fuming.

Standing in the forest alone, Jane thought sarcastically, _well, that went well. At least, now the Cullens will have to tell her about true mates. The pull should do the rest… as long as I can keep myself in check… I think I'll go hunting now. There may even be something interesting to watch in the city._

Taking off at vampire speed, she quickly found herself in Seattle and atop an apartment building in the fading light of sunset, which bathed the streets in melted gold and shadow.

* * *

Stressed after her talk with Carlisle, Bella collapsed onto her bed and promptly fell asleep.

_The sunset bathed the roof in a halo of golden light, which stretched out towards the person before her. With the light illuminating her hair in a way that seemed to radiate the light out from her as if she were the source, she appeared have a halo encircling her head. More than ever, she resembled an angel as with a jolt she realized that it was Jane who was standing there with her. However, Jane didn't seem to realize her presence as the vampire's back remained facing her. Silently, she leaped off the building into the darkness below, and as she fell, Bella found herself calling out to her and leaning over the low brick wall that lined the roof._

Waking, Bella shook her head. _This is ridiculous. I love Edward, and he loves me. We're mates for all of eternity. We're destined to be. He promised me that we were when he returned. Jane just hates us is all… or at least hates him. Besides, he told me how Jane is notorious for considering humans to be less than animals._ Shivering at the thought, Bella turned her mind to other things like homework and quickly forgot the dream.

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm hoping to have the next one up by the end of this week. Reviews are always appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"Bella, love," Edward whispered to her as he nervously darted a glance around the remote forest glade that they were standing in, "I have something to ask you."

She looked at him again as the dying sun glinted off his impossible pale skin. _Is this about what Carlisle explained about true mates? He did say that they can't be away from each other for more than two days or so, otherwise they'd go insane or simply lose the will to live. But we are mates. He couldn't stand being away from me… and I was a depressed and hollow shell without him. Besides, we love each other and have always been drawn to each other._

"I ask that you let me be your freedom from whatever fears you have and ever will have. I vow that I will always be there for you and always be beside," he began and knelt down in front of her. "I ask that you share with me one love and one eternity. Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"

"Yes," she breathed and jumped into his arms.

As they basked in the glow of their joy, neither noticed the figure in the shadowed tree line slipping away into the dusk.

Sitting in the dark of the deserted balcony, Jane looked down upon the stage as Christine and Raoul sang of their love to one another, but she could only see Edward and Bella below her. They repeated the same lines to her mockingly, tearing at her long dead and only recently rediscovered heart anew.

Alone again, she whispered the words that she longed for Bella to hear, "I'm here…Let me be your freedom. I'm here with you and beside you to guard you and to guide you…Say you love me… Say you need me with you now and always… Promise me that all you say is true... That's all I ask of you… You're safe… You're fears are far behind you… You always beside me… Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime… Anywhere you go, let me go too… Say the word, and I will follow you. Share each day with me, each night, each morning. Say you love me… Love me that's all I ask of you," Jane trailed off as the urge to cry overwhelmed her, and red streaks descended down her face.

The performance ended, and she slipped out as the audience applauded the actors, who graciously bowed. She stalked the streets afterwards. _Get it together, Jane. The Cullens cannot possibly allow Fuckward to marry your mate._ She softly growled, startling an old woman, who she quickly brushed past in the darkening gloom. _They know she's yours. Your mate. My mate. MINE!_ She snarled as she came to a dead end and punched the brick wall before her.

After demolishing the wall in place of Edward's head, she climbed to the top of an adjacent building and sat in the center of the roof. Breathing heavily, she gazed up at the moon. _Why?_

* * *

Author's Note: Shorter than expected, but I hope that you enjoyed it nevertheless. Either the next chapter or the one after that is going to be really long, so I may not be updating again until the middle of April as I still have to finish a really long chapter of _Eventide_.

Kochabilka: I hope Bella's thoughts satisfy you on what her conversation with Carlisle was. It was really only about mates because of what Jane insinuated earlier.

.7334: I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much. Hopefully, this little morsel can quench some of your thirst for it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Jane walked through the cottage's door slowly. Concerned, Alec rose from the sofa on which he had been lounging and walked over to her, but she shrugged him off.

"We are to return to Volterra on the morrow," she blankly stated and left for her room.

"I'm sorry, Jane," her brother whispered, knowing that she could hear. She didn't acknowledge his words. _I do not need nor do I want pity, brother. Not even yours. I simply want my mate._

* * *

_Edward and I are getting married. I can't believe it's finally happening,_ Bella thought as she laid on her back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. _I should be ecstatic… but I'm not. I'm marrying the love of my life, the dream of every girl, of every person in the world, yet I cannot help thinking of Jane. Jane who has never pushed me in anyway except to acknowledge that we might belong together… Am I making a mistake? I don't know._ She flipped over onto her stomach and rested her chin on her forearms. _She's left for Volterra, Italy, and we'll probably never see each other again… I fell madly in love with Edward, and I still love him… yet something has changed. I can't figure out what it is, but Edward's kisses aren't like they used to be… and he's pushing for the wedding to happen even __**before**__ I graduated._ She quietly huffed. _I don't want to get married before then. Maybe in the summer before college, but definitely not before. Would Jane have done the same if - Don't think about that. A person can easily lie… like Edward lied in the forest when he left me… Edward… lied… He lied to me. Jane… Jane has never truly lied to me, right?_ She crinkled her brow in thought. _She sincerely believes that we're meant for each other. Delusion, but not a lie. Jane's never lied to me._

An ache began in her chest, and she rubbed at it. It grew as the minutes passed. _Jane._

Sitting up, she noticed a neatly folded note on her windowsill. Slowly, she shuffled over to it. Unfolding it, she read:

_Dearest Bella,_

_I know that you still do not believe, and you may never will if Edward has you remain a human. I know that you will forget me as quickly as you can, but I ask that you think of me some time no matter where either of us is. I do not ask with the intention of a promise, though a promise I would like it to be, but as a last request. So please, think of me fondly and think of me every so often. On a not so distant day, you will be far away, and you will be free of my presence as I know now is your wish, which I shall respect. Already my time in Forks seems so long ago, but you, mia cara, stand out as a brilliant white light in the darkness of the sea of humans. I wish the best in both your mortal life and your immortal life._

_Always you shall be the light of my heart, no matter how far from me you go._

_Jane_

Slowly, she sat on the windowsill, where she whispered to herself the words that had etched themselves across her heart.

"I miss you, Jane."

* * *

"Master," Jane said and bowed stiffly after barely entering Aro's study.

"Ah, Jane," he said with a beaming smile that caused her to internally scowl. _Why must he be so damn cheerful all the time?!_ "I wished to inform you that we will be holding a masquerade ball two weeks from now on Friday. As I recall, you have always taken great joy in such fetes."

She nodded and turned to go after a quick bow. _What does it matter now? My Bella will not be in attendance._

"Oh, and Jane?" She paused and looked back at him. "The Denalis and Cullens have been invited along with all of their mates." He grinned as she nodded once again and left.

Once safely in her locked room, she allowed herself a small smile. _This is why I remain in the Volturi's service. Do not worry, my heart, we will soon be together again, and this time will be eternal. That fool will be on __**my**__ ground, and the Volturi do not take well to the stealing of mates._

* * *

"We, along with Bella, have been invited to a masquerade ball in Volterra," Carlisle solemnly announced to the collected coven and Bella in the mansion's living room.

"I refuse!" Edward roared.

"Edward," the older vampire reproached him, "we cannot refuse. The Volturi take great pains to give splendid balls and are deeply offended when guests refuse to attend. Aro also wishes to meet Bella, but I assure that he is simply curious. She is after all your mate as you both know." His smile did not reach his eyes. _Carlisle, am I making a mistake? I'm not so sure anymore._ "We will be leaving in two weeks. Aro has assured me that Bella's attendance will not be a problem, and do not worry Bella. He has already provided a good excuse for your father."

She nodded absentmindedly. _Volterra… Italy… Jane._ Her chest ached slightly at the thought. _We will see each other again soon, Jane._

* * *

A/N: Ah, next stop: drama in Volterra. How will Bella react? What stupidity will Edward concoct? Who yells? Who fights? Such exciting drama to follow in the next chapter, so stay tuned and drop a review! I love hearing from all of you!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"A masquerade ball, sister," Alec commented as they watched the large ballroom being decorated. "A masked ball along the lines of that in the opera you keep watching."

"Master Aro does love his pageants," Jane said dryly.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "So this has nothing to do with you and the human?"

She snorted. "Of course not. Aro needs a public and believes that the public needs an Aro. He feels obligated to do these sorts of things with the utmost extravagance. He can't deny them such a triumph as a ball like this. Anyway, we get some fun and something new for a night, while he gets his limelight." She paused. "He's much like a prima donna."

Alec chuckled. "But one usually does not get away with all this unless one is in a play or an opera."

"Perhaps," she commented. "Or perhaps that only applies to humans. They typically do not possess the means for such extravagance, and Aro certainly does."

"Is he actually drinking blood out of that heeled shoe?" He asked as he stared at Aro who held a white party shoe to his mouth as if it was a wine glass.

"I believe he is," Jane answered, and her mouth quirked up in mirth at her master's antics. "I have no doubt that he will be even more theatrical at the ball. I cringe to think what he will be wearing, probably some period piece that will make him stand out like a Roman gladiator in a room full of modern American businessmen."

"What will you be wearing?" Alec questioned as he glanced away from Aro, who finished his drink and began walking around the room again to oversee the decorating.

A devious smile graced her curling lips before she turned away to walk out of the ballroom. "That is for you and everyone else to discover, dear brother."

_Volterra, Italy._ Bella gulped. _The seat of vampire power and the home of the fearsome Volturi, including the infamous witch twins: Jane and Alec. The city in which a masked ball shall tonight take place and where at least a hundred vampires shall gather along with myself as the only human present. What am I going to do?_

"Are you alright, love?" Edward asked and squeezed her hand a bit too tight, making her wince before he let go.

"Yes, Edward," she whispered as she stared at the magnificent stone building across the street from the hotel in which they would be staying. "We should get ready." She pulled away from him to go change with Alice in her room.

Entering the glittering ballroom, Bella quietly gasped at the splendor on show before her. Golden chandeliers hung high above from a deep, red-wine colored ceiling and gave a soft but glittering glow on the room and its inhabitants, who did not sparkle in the gentle light. Below them, guests mingled among the tables to the sides of the room and glided with ease across the huge, central dancefloor before the raised platform, where the leaders of the Volturi were seated with their wives.

"A splendid party, Carlisle," Esme whispered from her and Edward's left. "You must tell me what the other Volturi balls were like. I wonder why they have not hosted one in so long."

"I do not know, my love," her husband whispered back as he led her down the red carpeted stairs to the mahogany floor below. The rest of the coven followed with her and Edward, Rosalie and Emmett, and finally Alice and Jasper.

Without interrupting the swirling couples, they proceeded to the raised platform, where Aro rose and greeted Carlisle.

"It has been far too long, old friend," he proclaimed as they shook hands. Bella took the time that he spent chatting with Carlisle to examine the head of the Volturi, Jane's boss. The man was undoubtedly elegant and handsome. Despite the age and flamboyancy of his clothes, he did not appear ridiculous in the white, ruffled shirt and old, dark red coat that reached his knees, where his britches also gave way to either tights or socks until they reached his buckled, black shoes. _Odd guy. Very eccentric, but he seems to hold a large amount of respect in the vampire world despite it._

"And this must be Bella," he said and rubbed his hands together briefly as he stood before her. "A great pleasure to meet you dear," he continued and held out a hand, which she took despite Edward tensing next to her and glaring at Aro. The older man's brow briefly furrowed before a brilliant smile overtook his face. "Fascinating. I cannot read you, my dear."

Having already been told about Aro's power by Carlisle, she nodded.

"Perhaps, she can meet with Eleazar later," Aro suggested. "I would so dearly love to know what she is capable of, old friend. To be so powerful already while in human form!"

"If you don't mind, I'll take Bella dancing now," Edward politely informed both Carlisle and Aro, who nodded with a big smile that worried her slightly.

"Of course, young love. Who am I to come between two people destined for each other?" Aro asked as they were leaving, and he laughed.

Edward smoothly led her towards the dance floor.

"Edward, how nice to see you again," a blonde vampire accosted them on the edge of the ballroom's floor. "This is the human, you mentioned?" She looked Bella over as he nodded. "It's so nice to meet you, dear. I'm Tanya," she introduced herself and held out a hand, which Bella shook after a second's pause. "Congratulations on your soon to be transformation. I do hope it is soon, and you should come visit us soon as well." She looked pointedly at Edward before beginning to talk about Denali, Alaska. Soon, she was arguing with Edward over when Bella would come visit.

A hand clamped gently but strongly around Bella's upper arm, and she jumped. The squeak she let out was promptly smothered by a cold hand over her mouth.

"It's just me," Jane whispered in her ear by the side of her blue feathered mask. "Follow me."

Relieved to be away from Edward's smothering protectiveness for a short time, Bella promptly followed as Jane drew them into the swirling crowd on the dance floor. She noticed how Jane was not wearing a dress but instead what must have been the red and black formal uniform of the guard with a fur lined, red cloak that Jane had flung over one shoulder. Her blonde hair flowed freely down her back from behind the red, phoenix mask that covered her face from view.

Drawing her into position for the waltz, Jane whispered, "You look beautiful in blue, darling." She blushed unconsciously. _Not as much as you. Wait, I shouldn't think like this… but it feels so natural. I feel so much better when she's around… even more so than when I'm with Edward, and I have missed her._

They glided across the floor with ease, and she did not once trip unlike the times when she danced with Edward. _She's even a better dancer than him, more graceful than he could ever be. I wonder if she's also a better kisser? Don't think about it!_ Jane smiled wickedly as she blushed at the thought of kissing the blonde immortal.

"Follow me, love," Jane whispered, and nodding, she followed her out of the crowd to a secluded door and soon away from the ball.

* * *

A/N: Alright, the ball has begun, and Jane has already slipped off with Bella. Next up, more of Jane's point of view and possibly even Marcus's. Anyone think I should add some of Aro's thoughts when Eddy's distracted?


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

_Well, young Edward, you have been a very bad boy,_ Aro thought as he released Carlisle's hand and one of the other Cullens continued to distract Edward. _You've even gotten Carlisle to admit how much you've fucked up, although he's begging for mercy unlike Jane. I quite think she'd kill you herself if it wouldn't upset the girl at your side._

Watching Edward and Bella leave, he smiled. _Oh, yes. Tonight will be most interesting, once our other guest arrives._

* * *

_Their bond is nearly black,_ Marcus mused as the two left for the dancefloor. _It's strained to the breaking point and tainted with doubt and a hint of fear._ Silently, he watched as Tanya distracted the young vampire, and Jane whisked Bella away. Briefly, he felt a pull at either end of his mouth and came close to a small smile. _Jane's bond to her is a thriving, strong gold of the healthiest variety. It will only grow stronger in time. The blue longing has already disappeared now that they are reunited._

* * *

Anxiously, Jane waited in the shadows by the open door to the gardens and peered intently into the crowd. Her eyes swept once more over the grand entrance at the top of the high staircase. If she could, she would have stopped breathing as the Cullens descended the stairs. Her gaze roved over the figure of her mate in her blue dress, embroidered with silver on the left side and shoulder. Flowing, warm, brown locks fell in waves upon her back, which was left open by the dress except for a strip of cloth cutting across the middle. A mostly blue peacock covered her face in perfect contrast to her own mask, but she easily discerned the tension in the beautiful figure. _Do not worry, my mate_. She smiled softly as she began slowly walking towards the edge of the Kings' platform. _You will only remain by his side for a few more moments._

Along the way, she nodded to Tanya Denali, who stood conversing with her sisters as they sipped blood from champagne glasses. She nodded back to Jane, who grinned beneath her costume. The crowd of vampires easily parted before her but not from fear of her. Many nodded to her in passing before returning to what their conversations. Jane's grin widened into a smile. _Oh, yes, Fuckward, you are going to regret every second you have spent with her after my arrival in that hellhole of a town._

She did not wait long by the edge of the platform before Edward excused himself and Bella. Not far from the dancefloor, Tanya accosted them and struck up a conversation that quickly turned into an engrossing argument. _Perfect,_ Jane mentally purred as she glided over to Bella's shoulder.

Gently clapping an arm around her mate's arm, she leaned in and whispered, "It's just me." She felt Bella sag backwards in unconscious relief, causing her to smile. "Follow me."

Quickly leading her away, Jane drew them onto the dancefloor for the beginning waltz. Gliding across the floor with her mate grinning in her arms, Jane felt complete and dizzying happiness well up within her. Catching the blush shading the brunette's cheeks, she grinned wickedly.

As the dying notes of the song came down upon them, she whispered, "Follow me, love."

She guided the human over to the secluded garden door and out into the night away from the masquerade.

* * *

A/N: A short blurb of Jane, Aro, and Marcus during the ball. Reviews and other feedback appreciated. Have a nice day or night, wherever you are. :)


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: And I'm back after an enforced break due to life. If you want the full story, you can go check out my profile page. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and another should be up soon! I just love my cliffhangers.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Jane led her though to a garden softly illuminated by starlight and moonlight and guided them to a secluded bench, where the music of the ball was but a murmur.

Finding herself relaxing for the first time in days, Bella gratefully sank onto the cool stone beside the blonde. Slowly, Jane began to untangle her hand from the brunette's, but she tightened her hold and look into the anxious red eyes that softened as the tugging ceased.

Shifting slightly, Jane began, "Bella, you remember what I said that day in the forest, correct?" She nodded, and the blonde continued, "I am… not good at expressing myself this way, but… I have waited my entire existence for you. When my world as a human was shattered, and I became a vampire, the eventual existence of my mate was the only beacon of white light besides the gray one of my brother, Aro, and Didyme, master Marcus' mate, in the black despair of my life. A thousand long years of misery awaited me, but as time passed, I became… accustomed to my dull existence, only enlivened by the missions that I was sent on. But that all changed when I saw you, mia amore. When I left again, my only thought was of hearing your voice again and knowing that maybe I never would. Now… you are here… and again I ask if you… would…"

Seeing Jane struggle to voice her emotions and thoughts, Bella's heart cracked as it never had for Edward, and impulsively, she leaned in and kissed her cheek. Jumping slightly, the blonde accidentally turned and kissed her. Surprised, Bella didn't pull back as every thought of Edward flew out of her head and was replaced by Jane: her scent, her cool palms against her flushed cheeks, the rustle of her cloak as she shifted closer.

Breaking for air, she looked away towards the door leading into the ball. _Edward, has never consumed me like that… and he'll never be able to._

"Mia amore?" Jane's soft, tight voice broke her thoughts, and she turned back to the nervous blonde.

"Yes, angel?" She asked. _Truly she is an angel with her halo of gold hair framing her perfect face._ Jane grinned and kissed her softly.

"Do you want to head back to the dance?" She whispered as she nuzzled the brunette's neck, causing her breath to hitch.

"What about Edward?" Bella asked worried.

Pulling back, Jane gracefully rose to her feet and pulled her mate along with her. "He won't be a problem, mia amore. I promise. Master Aro has already planned to take care of it."

Grinning deviously, Jane led her human back towards the garden door and into the softly glowing, golden light of the ballroom. She smirked just as they entered and locked eyes with Edward.

"Oh, this is going to be good," she whispered to herself as a shadow slipped from the wall behind the Cullen and nodded to her.

Holding Bella behind her, she watched as the flaming red-haired vampire tapped the man on the shoulder, causing him to turn around and grow even paler.

"Remember me?" The woman laughed, and the sound echoed throughout the ballroom. "Oh, I am going to have such fun with you, Eddy boy."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: One more to go after this, folks.

natcityjp: I'm happy to hear that the one time I intentionally try a cliffhanger that it goes over so well. Thank you.

furface294: I'm glad you enjoy that part. I always figured that Victoria could beat him in a fight. She is older than him after all and must be more experienced. Edward never seemed that he could fight that well without his mindreading, and I think that Victoria's survival talent may help her against that.

Le Diablo Blanc2: I'm glad you've enjoyed the story.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Hello, Victoria," Edward croaked as she licked her red lips.

"Aro?" Carlisle nervously questioned.

"Young Edward has broken several of our most important laws, Carlisle," Aro smiled. "He must be punished for them, my dear friend, and miss Victoria does harbor quite the grudge for the destruction of her mate. You may continue," he informed the redhead. "But I'd prefer not to have to rebuild the ballroom again."

"Of course," she replied and briefly bowed to the King before turning back to her prey. "Now, where were we?" He tried to bolt out the entrance door, and laughing, Victoria grabbed him by the throat when Demetri and Felix blocked his path.

Within seconds, screams wafted through the air to their ears. Bella flinched, and Jane pulled her closer.

"Don't look," Jane whispered as she burrowed against the vampire's side, which muffled the sharp cracks and high pitched screams.

"It's alright, love," Jane whispered and drew soothing circles on the human's back before glancing at Aro who nodded. "Follow me."

Quickly, she led the brunette back out through the garden door and through the night to another door, which led them down a deserted corridor devoid of sound except for the smack of their shoes upon the stone floor. Bella stayed tucked into Jane's side until they came to a sumptuous bedroom. Bella slumped onto the bed as Jane nervously hovered by her side.

"Are you alright?" The vampire whispered, and Bella nodded before taking a deep, shaky breath.

"I'll be okay, Jane. I think I just need to sleep," she mumbled before letting herself fall back onto the bed in an effort to hurry her descent, which froze as her thoughts returned to Edward. She winced. "Jane? What will happen now?"

"Now," Jane whispered as she caressed the brunette's upturned wrist, "you can stay here, if you wish." She briefly glanced up to the doe eyes before looking back down again. "You can become a vampire as soon as you want."

"And Edward?"

"Is already dead, love," Jane explained.

"Jane," Bella whispered and grasped the blonde's caressing hand. "I wouldn't have chosen him over you." The vampire gently squeezed her hand in understanding and returned her gaze. "It's just what will Victoria do now?"

"She won't come for you," Jane hastened to answer. "You're under the protection of the Volturi, and you're my mate. She's gotten her revenge, Bella. She's killed Edward for killing her mate and at the same time has executed Volturi law. The crime of mate stealing is almost as high as that of revealing ourselves to humans."

Bella nodded and remained silent for a few minutes as she tried to find the words to express the second issue that weighed on her mind.

"Jane, you said I can become a vampire whenever I wish?"

"Within reason of course," Jane clarified. "The masters have given us up to two years before your transformation."

"And if I want it now?" Bella whispered.

Jane grinned, revealing her fangs, and leaned in towards her neck.

"Whatever you wish, love," she whispered before biting.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Ten Years Later_

The years passed without a hitch from the events of the ball. The Volturi were apparently known for such displays at their festivities, but it was still worse to turn down an invitation than it was to attend.

The Cullens returned to the United States after Edward's execution and Bella's transformation. They quickly recovered from his death upon the revelation that he had stolen Jane's mate instead of allowing Bella to choose freely as he had promised them. The two covens remained in greater contact after that, and the Cullens frequently visited.

Victoria disappeared after the ball, much to Bella's relief. The redheaded vampire had remained quiet throughout the decade for which the Volturi were thankful. Dealing with an assassination attempt on their new shield would have been very annoying.

Now, Bella stood beside her mate on a cliff overlooking the sea as her thoughts returned to the present. Petite arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and cool breath tickled her ear.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jane whispered, and the brunette grinned.

"Just how my life's turned out over the past year," she answered. "When's Alec's wedding again?"

"Two months," Jane answered as she nuzzled her mate's neck. "Leah is coming with the rest of the Quileute tribe three days before the ceremony. I have to admit that I did not expect that when your friend Jacob stormed into Volterra all those years ago."

Bella smiled at the memory. _Ah, Jake. I was terrified that you came looking for me and would tear Jane apart on sight… but Leah imprinting saved us all that day. Alec was thrilled to finally find his mate, even though it took her a year to finally accept him as more than a friend._

Smiling, she covered Jane's hands with her own. _This story turned out to have a happy ending after all. A happy eternal ever after._

* * *

A/N: And we have arrived at the end. I'm so glad that all of you have enjoyed this story with me, and I thank each and every one of you for your encouragement over the course of this work! I hope you have a great day!


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